ESPN has confirmed to Polygon that the Simpsons animated series will return to its home video release format for the first time since 2006, following a four-year hiatus.
Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s animated series, which debuted on ABC in 2005, will return on ESPN for the second time in four years, ESPN announced on Tuesday.
The Simpsons will also return for the eleventh consecutive year on ESPN’s live streaming platform, which includes original series such as College Football, NBA, and MLB.
Simpson: The Simpsons is set to air on ESPN on Tuesday night.
In an interview with Polygon last year, Groening said that the series’ popularity in the U.S. was on par with its U.K. counterpart, with the Simpsons in the Top 20 most-watched shows on Netflix and Hulu in the first six months of this year.
However, a recent survey from comScore found that only 16% of American viewers watched the show on TV in the past year, compared to 69% of U.L.G. viewers.
The survey also found that just 11% of Simpsons fans are over the age of 18.
As for the Simpsons, the network has announced that Simpsons: A Barticos Journey will air a one-hour special on the channel that will premiere on Wednesday, Nov 12 at 11:30 p., ET.
The special will focus on Barticosa, a character that the show’s creators initially pitched as a teenaged nerd, only to find out she was actually a vampire and the reason for her transformation was to save Barticasso from a demon.
The series will be re-airing in the fall, and a Simpsons: Barticoso Journey special will premiere in November on ESPN3.